With technical equipment and arrangements, it is frequently the case that use of a resource requires a license for use. Thus, by way of example, the purchase of a data storage medium with a computer program does not automatically have the associated “authorization” to actually use this computer program. Another common example of the use of licenses are modern communication systems, which the manufacturer equips with a particular number of resources, for example interfaces, channels, services etc. In this case, a number of licenses which is purchased by a user determines the scope of permitted use of the resources provided by the manufacturer in advance. In this context, the term “resource” has a very broad sense within the scope of this patent application and denotes any technical facility, service, function, computer program or the like whose use requires use authorization, that is to say a license.
Ideally, a manufacturer provides its customers with precisely as many resources and an identical number of licenses as the customer actually requires. In the example of communication installations, this would mean that a customer operating 20 extensions would also be supplied with a communication installation having 20 subscriber interfaces and naturally also with a license for operating the 20 subscriber interfaces (and hence for the use of 20 channels). In this example, however, this has the drawback that as the customer's needs increase it is necessary to retrofit both individual resources (in this case: physical subscriber interfaces) and the use licenses required for operation. This is disadvantageous both from a logistical point of view and from a technical point of view. Therefore, technical facilities, that is to say including the communication installations under consideration here, are often “over proportioned” in terms of their resources, i.e. twenty-four or thirty resources (subscriber lines) are supplied instead of the originally required twenty resources, for example, but only twenty licenses. Extending the telecommunication installation then merely requires the purchase of further licenses and the associated “enabling” of the additional resources already provided in advance. Another example are computer programs which are sold in a full version on a data storage medium or can even be loaded from the Internet but whose use requires the purchase of what is known as an “enable code” (installation key) and hence the purchase of a license. Depending on the enable code (type of license), a greater or lesser scope of functions of the computer program is enabled for the customer in this case. This means that in this example too the resources (in this case: functions of the computer program) are with the customer from the outset (provided in advance) but cannot be used until a license is granted. In brief, the use of licenses is an instrument for releasing or blocking services, that is to say resources, as required.
As an example of a license-based use scenario, a communication network having, three communication nodes will now be assumed, with each communication node needing to have a license to use each channel (that is to say for each telephone call, for example). If thirty terminals are connected to each of the three communication installations, thirty licenses can be allocated for each communication installation, for example. This would have the advantage that sufficient licenses for the resources (in this case: channels) are always available, and in each communication installation, even if all the subscribers are making telephone calls at the same time, in other words: are using their resources. However, such a setup would have the drawback for the operator of the communication network that he would need to purchase ninety licenses, even though it is extremely unlikely that all ninety subscribers would actually be making telephone calls at the same time and hence is highly likely that it is not actually necessary to purchase such a large number of licenses. To solve the problem, it is naturally possible to reduce the number of licenses for each communication installation, for example to halve it. However, the situation may then arise that in a first of the communication systems, for example, the number of granted licenses is not sufficient while another of the communication systems has free, unused licenses. The result of this would be that a function is not possible at a first location on account of “a lack of licenses”, even though sufficient licenses are available in total.